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Experts call for pituitary ‘centers of excellence’
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Researchers are calling for the advent of a pituitary “centers of excellence” designation at hospitals equipped with high-level surgical skills and other capabilities needed to provide state-of-the-art care to patients with pituitary tumors, according to a press release.
In a special article published in Neurosurgery, Daniel F. Kelly, MD, and Nancy McLaughlin, MD, PhD, of the John Wayne Cancer Institute and Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.; Edward R. Laws, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Nelson M. Oyesiku, MD, PhD, FACS, of Emory University and Laurence Katznelson, MD, of Stanford University, “provide the background and rationale for recognizing pituitary centers of excellence and suggest a voluntary verification process, similar to that used by the American College of Surgeons for Trauma Center Verification.”
According to the authors, centers of excellence should accomplish three goals:
- Provide comprehensive care and support to patients with pituitary disorders;
- Provide residency training, fellowship training and/or continuing medical education in the management of pituitary and neuroendocrine disease; and
- Contribute to research in pituitary disorders.
“The participation of pituitary COEs in national clinical registries and tissue banks is key in their mission to significantly contribute to the growth of knowledge of pituitary diseases and help tailor future treatment paradigms,” the researchers wrote.
However, they acknowledge that various issues — like center and surgeon practice volume, as well as overseeing the verification process — warrant additional thought.
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